Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

54 percent of Americans want to work from home, even after coronavirus pandemic ends

54 percent of Americans want to work from home, even after coronavirus pandemic ends

A new coronavirus outbreak required companies to shift to remote work and now that people have had the experience of working from home, but research shows that majority of them wouldn't mind if they didn't have to go back to the office.
An IBM survey found that 54 percent of the 25,000 adults polled would like to be able to primarily work from home and 75 percent would like the option to do it occasionally. Once businesses can reopen, 40 percent of people responded that they feel strongly their employer should offer opt-in remote work options.

More than 1 million people in the U.S. have tested positive for a new coronavirus as of Monday morning, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University. At least 65,735 people have died, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projected up to 114,228 people could die by August 4.

By mid-March, the situation in America had moved past the point of being able to conduct effective contact tracing, thereby requiring the implementation of mitigation measures. Since groups of people gathering in a confined space is a known method for viruses to spread, companies started telling people to work from home and eventually, states mandated the policy.

There are areas of America's economy that can't operate remotely and those businesses that can move online need more than just employees with computers to be successful. Researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts evaluated 42 countries' abilities to move to remote work based on their robustness of key platforms, ability to facilitate transactions digitally and the resilience of the internet infrastructure to traffic surges.

People in America were concerned if America's infrastructure could withstand moving mass amounts of people out of the office and researchers at Tufts found the United States was largely ready to work from a distance. America scored high in all three categories, but researchers identified a need to improve internet infrastructure to account for traffic surges.

Over the long term, researchers said moves need to be made to increase internet speed and fill gaps between poorer, more rural areas and wealthier, urban and suburban areas.

Some states are starting to reopen retail businesses that were initially deemed non-essential and forced to close. Other states are still devising plans of how their reopening should look and returning to an office will depend on individual states' decisions.

In New York City, the epicenter of the outbreak, sending people back to work in their office would force people back onto public transportation en masse. Proving difficult to social distance on a train during rush hours, Tom Prendergast, former chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, suggested that businesses stagger work hours during an interview with Cheddar. By moving away from the traditional 9-5 workday, businesses could help reduce the crowded conditions that are all too common on the subway.

With the potential to spread the virus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo took unprecedented action and announced the subway would close from 1 a.m. until 5 a.m. beginning on May 6 so it could be cleaned daily.

Once restrictions are lifted and people can go back to an office, it's possible some people might see a shift in their commute. In a Gallup poll released on Friday, 52 percent of managers polled said they will allow employees to work from home more often because of the experience with the coronavirus outbreak.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×